


What are you ready to lose?

by Ilovechocolate



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Doctor Haruno Sakura, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince Naruto, Prince Sasuke, Princes & Princesses, Prisoner Sasuke, Prisoner of War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-10 07:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17421914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovechocolate/pseuds/Ilovechocolate
Summary: A neverending war has been plaguing these lands. As peace appears as a far away dream what are Naruto and Sasuke, the princes of the two nations at war, willing to sacrifice for their people?





	1. A new plan

“Your highness this is the prisoner we discussed about” the voice was not hard to recognize, he had even come to fear it, the same voice that welcomed him every morning in that dark cell to ask him the same questions. However, the person with him caught his interest, a high-ranking general would call very few people your highness and he was almost certain that the queen was not in front of him, only brutes would show to a woman such a poor sight. Two other possibilities came to his mind and only one made sense to him prince Naruto, the heir to the throne. He knew he was in the castle, he knew he was fighting with his own soldiers, it made sense that he wanted to check his most important prisoner.

“I hope you find satisfying the measures we have taken to ensure the safety of the cell…” Kakashi kept talking but he did not need to listen this part, he was already well aware of everything they had done to keep him there, two simple elements had actually been enough: the  heavy chains around his linked to the floor long enough to reach his bed and a bucket, and black blindfold constantly covering his eyes.

During this conversation he noted something: Kakashi was the only one speaking, this would seem such a small detail, but it brought huge satisfaction to the fallen prince as his torturer received his same treatment. So many times, in the last week, the prisoner had asked him, begged would have been a more appropriate word but the prince’s pride would not accept it, for the pain to end but silence was his only answer. A small smile appeared on his face, he knew the darkness would have hidden it, as the general’s achievements were listed but ignored.

In the same way they arrived, they left after a couple of minute not one question had been asked to him, good, he thought, questions only bring pain.

 

 

 

“Kakashi you need to listen to me. Your method is not working”

“Sire, with all the due respect we need the information, and we need them quickly. We do not have time to try anything else.”

“You had one week, and frankly I do not know what more you could do to him, I have seen what conditions he is in, was whipping him a necessity? And how many times? I guess at least 20 but it was too dark to see clearly. Do I even have to talk about his hands, how many nails did you take?” the general had been silent a slight shade of shame seemed to have covered his eyes and that probably stopped the young prince.

“Listen: I have known you my whole life, I am aware that every action of yours is taken in the interest of our nation, but if he has not talked after everything he has endured, he will not talk at all. Time has come to find another method and I have just got the perfect idea”.

“What are you thinking about?”

“He has been in a cell in complete darkness for a week, the only person talking to him was his torturer. In his situation a gentle word might cause more damage than the knife.”.

 

 

 

He could hear steps approaching, his meal was arriving but there was something wrong with them.

“You have never been here before” he said as soon as the stranger opened his cell, the guards still insisted on locking it even if he was chained to the pavement…

The mysterious man laughed warmly when he heard him, he was definitely not a guard.

“They said you could recognize me, sir, but I didn’t think so soon. Please tell me what exposed me?”

“Your pace, the guards have a steadier rhythm even when they are not marching”

Naruto smirked the prisoner was as observant as he imagined, his plan was working.

“Oh well, sir, you’re right. My name’s Menma”

Sasuke knew he should not ask so many questions, but finally someone was answering them, what damage could do a stupid question cause?

“Why did they send you Menma?”

 

 

 

So, the prisoner was asking questions, this was good, for a week he had only received them, even beaten when he spoke without permission, but he did not want to think too much about that, he did not like the situation, but war was war and so many lives were at stake. The fastest way to gain his trust would be to answer his questions truthfully…as truthful as it could be the story of a prince disguised as a servant.

“You know, guards do not want to come down here, when they bring you food they need to be close enough to let you reach the plates, it’s the chains they say, but I do not ask too many question, not a good thing my old man often said, anyway they say you bite, you kick and they are not allowed to fight back”

Sasuke could not help the proud smile on his face

“Anyway, my old man often said if you wanna keep a job, do what the others don’t wanna do. So, I’m here, bringing food to the prisoner no one wants to get close to, hoping for a promotion”

 

 

 

 

“He seems like a very wise man” he knew he was making a mistake, but this man was a civilian and the last time he talked about something different than the war seemed so far. A week ago, he would have never answered the man but now he needed this, something that could resemble normality, a normality he missed so dearly.

“Oh well I came here for the food, you have broth today” actually every day…but the man could not know that, he kept talking about his life and his job while he ate, he found his voice incredibly relaxing, after the battle he had been constantly on edge but the more at ease he got  the more he realized how tired he actually was. Somewhere deep in his mind he knew this state was dangerous, but he just didn’t want to think about that.”

“It’s time for me to go Kakashi-sama will ask me why it took me so long, I’ve just got this job, I can’t already cause trouble, ah the guards said they are sending you a doctor later, I think it’s my duty to warn you” it was pleasant to be treated like a person again, that was definitely not his duty: the guards usually would not talk to him at all also the doctor sat in silence next to him, but he still could not decide if he honestly did not know this or he was trying to help him, and if it was the latter, what was the reason?

“See you soon, Sas’ke” the prince’s eyes widened, only his brother called him by his first name and now this stranger dared to use it, a week ago he would have had the man severely punished for such a disrespectful action, but now he did not care he was just tired.

“See you Menma”.

 

 

 

“More careful, your highness, you must avoid leaving your left side open in this way you can get defeated easily” Orochimaru was always correcting him but for once it was taking more than a couple of seconds to lose, he knew his teacher was not going easy on him, he never did and maybe he was finally learning how to hold his own

The summer breeze blew gently on his face, it seemed like the perfect day to ride and enjoy the warm season, but his father would have not allowed him to skip training, he was an Uchiha, he needed to be strong, and so here he was on the training field with his sadistic teacher.

“Orochimaru-sama” his father had completely taken him by surprise, but he was still able to ward off his teacher’s blow.

“I have heard about Itachi’s improvements lately. I must say I am impressed, you are doing an excellent work with him”

“Sire, I thank you immensely for your praises, but I do not deserve them, the merit goes to the prince. Those achievements are easy when such a natural talent is combined with a meticulous and restless training. You must be proud of him, he is becoming quite a remarkable young man” Orochimaru spoke calmly while fighting the young prince. His pupil was getting more and more tired leaving, at the end, his left side completely open, he easily took advantage of this making the boy fall on the ground.

His father shook his idea disappointedly.

“I wish I could say the same about your youngest son, your majesty, but I guess not everyone can have Itachi’s talent. “continued Orochimaru.

“Sasuke come here” his father’s tone was serious, he knew what he was thinking, he would never be like Itachi. Sasuke knew that, everyone knew that and still the king could not help the disappointment whenever he compared his two children.

“Yes Father” the boy said getting up as fast as possible.

“Repeat me who you are and what is your duty”

“I am Sasuke Uchiha prince of the Fire land, my duty is to protect my nation and my family from his enemies” the boy repeated those words, he had come to learn by heart

“Exactly and how do you plan to protect your family if you cannot even defend yourself, you are old enough now to understand your duty and stop wasting your time. I do not want to be disappointed again”

“Sire he is just a child” his mother tried to intervene.

“That is the problem: you keep treating him like a child when he is already nine, Itachi had already started fighting with real swords at his age” and so he left without giving her the time to reply, quickly followed by the snake who kept listing Itachi’s successes, after all the future king was not a disappointment.

“Sasuke you do not have to listen to your father now, he is only worried. The situation is getting more difficult, he didn’t mean to…”

“No mother, he is right. I need to work more if I want to make you proud of me”

The queen smiled and hugged her little child, but then a drop of water fell on his cheek followed immediately by another, was it raining? But the sky was so clear this morning, he looked at his mother she was still smiling but blood had started seeping out of her mouth, her skin was becoming paler but she kept smiling, the water kept falling from the cloudless sky, and her mother was becoming transparent but she kept smiling.

“Sasuke I am already so proud of you” she said before vanishing completely with the training field and everything surrounding him, only darkness stayed and water. He was now completely wet and then…

 

 

 

 

Then he woke up soaked and incredibly cold in his cell 

“Good morning your highness, did you sleep well?  I hope you don’t mind how I chose to wake you, I thought you were in desperate need for a bath” he could hear Kakashi’s grin in his voice

“Well Kakashi I really thank you for your help but you did not need to trouble yourself so much, you could have just given me the key to my cell and my chains and I would have taken care of that by myself , after all I am sure that would not be such a problematic request I can hear them hanging from your belt”

“So, you do know how to speak, why don’t you put that tongue of yours to a much better use, you know what I want to hear”

This time Sasuke stayed silent, he could hear the older man approaching him, the general sat on his bed and grabbed his left wrist, he did not resist, it would have only amused the other, after all how could he fight chained to the floor. He felt a wooden stick caressing the skin of his hand as his grip got tighter

“Come on, princeling, it does not have to go this way just tell me where your camp is located. I know you are aware of the exact position, after all you chose it”

He did not speak nor move he knew what was coming

“You asked for it, kid” and he pushed the sharp end between his middle finger and the nail, Sasuke bit his lip until it was bleeding, he would not scream, he would not give the man this satisfaction too.

“ Maybe you remember better the location of the camp now” Kakashi left the stick still deeply embedded in his skin as he moved, probably to take another stick or something else to torture him, if he had to guess, a whip, his finger was throbbing, it was getting harder to focus as he felt his hand getting covered in blood and the pain of the previous sessions did not help either.

Kakashi returned after a couple of seconds and this time when he sat  what he pressed slightly against his skin was a knife, it was the first time he used one.

“I hate repeating myself, would you like to add something?” as he pushed the stick even deeper in his finger

“Nothing to say? That’s fine”

This time he could not stop the scream from leaving his lips as he felt the blade digging through his arm, he had gotten used to the sticks, but this caught him by surprise, the knife was jagged and it would  tear his tissue at every movement”

“You know you can’t really complain, you practically asked for this and you could stop it at any moment “ as he spoke he kept twisting the knife in his arm the pain was sharp in his arm.

The pain was vanishing slowly as every feeling in that arm, he knew what this meant

“I could stop it for now by telling you the location, and even if  tomorrow you don’t come back you will be here the day after maybe asking about the wards, same promises, and then you will ask how to reach my brother, but I cannot betray Itachi, he is the only family I have left” flashes of his mother corpse came to his mind her pale skin was covered in blood but she was  still smiling, that smile had haunted his dreams for almost ten years now.

“So Itachi is at the camp” his eyes widened how could he have been so stupid to let such an information slip.

“Well I guess it must be so from how rigid you got, it was not what I asked but this information will be useful”

He was fighting to stay awake, he needed to persuade Kakashi that he was wrong.

This was a battle he could not win and in his  those last moment of awareness he realized that he had failed also the last member of his family.

 

 

 

 

“Your highness I have news for you “Kakashi had run immediately to the prince

“What’s happening Kakashi?” Naruto was in his room studying the maps as he did everyday now, they needed to find a new strategy if they wanted to win this war, and nothing could be more useful than the environment in these situations.

“The prisoner has started speaking, he told me that king Itachi is at the camp, he has left the capital unguarded”

“I will inform my father immediately, we cannot take important decisions without his consent but Kakashi how is Sasuke?”

“Do not worry, my prince, he is in no condition to run at the moment”

“That’s not what I meant, I know that he didn’t give this information willingly so how is he?”

“I will probably send a doctor soon, he passed out before I left”

“and you left him unconscious and wounded” he left his maps running towards the door.

“Where are you going sire”

“To help him, send Sakura as soon as possible”

He grabbed some bandages and water while running to the prison.

The raven seemed still unconscious, his skin was even paler than usual, his arm laid limp on one corner completely covered in blood, the dagger still in skin.

“Oh shit” he reached him immediately trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning the injury to prevent an infection.

“Your highness” a pink haired girl entered the dark cell, she appeared as shocked as him seeing the raven.

“Sakura-chan you need to help him”

“Naruto, I will need your assistance here, I will start by removing the stick, the risk of causing damage is smaller for the finger, you must keep him completely still, so I can complete the operation and remove eventual splinters, the arm will be more complicated…”

Naruto did not listen what she said afterward, he just grabbed the already limp body.

 As he was standing in that dark room, he had the impression of seeing it for the first time.

There was not much light, Sakura had brought a candle to work. The only sources of light were a small window just outside the cell and the staircase that led to the upper floor, well maybe it was better like this the darkness hid the misery in there. It hid the bed covered in blood, the dusty floor and it hid the prisoner.

The fallen prince was so pale that contrasted everything around him like a star in the night sky, but the similarities ended there, nothing glorious could be said about Sasuke now. They had covered his eyes so that he could not use his family’s strongest weapon, they had done so even after they had him locked, chained, tortured, starved and…

…and…

 … and the truth was that he had locked him, chained him, starved him and tortured him even if it was not his hands acting, all of this happened because he had ordered it, he had disobeyed his father, called him weak for not having the guts to make such a decision but now he finally understood him, his refusal to play with human lives, how arrogant he had been.

The idea seemed perfect at the beginning, the prince didn’t even appear human in his mind, he had seen him on the battlefield, ruthless covered in the blood of his comrades: he did not appear human back then.

How could he imagine that under that armour there was a boy even younger than himself?

 He thought that the mission would be easy, even quick. After all, why would they train a prince to suffer such a treatment in silence for so long.

He certainly would have not survived.

At first he did not even want to see him, he stayed in his room studying the maps, but then the days went on and they still did not have new information, so after one week he decided that he wanted to see for himself this monstrous creature that could survive such hardships in silence.

What he found was not a monster but a guy just like himself, blinded, hungry but still loyal to his own land

and there was no one but himself to blame for his fate.

 

 

 


	2. Is this the right path?

“Naruto why are you doing this?” Sakura had finally finished to take care of Sasuke and now she was looking at him disappointedly.

“It’s the only way, the war needs to end.”

“At what price? I know you, Naruto. You are a good man, and yet you are here slowly killing a person that has no way of defending himself”

“He is not an innocent either. He is our enemy. He organized all the worst battles we had. Sakura, he killed Sai, Rock Lee and so many others. How can you defend the killer of our friends?”

“Are you even listening to what you are saying? I guess you are repeating the same words you tell yourself when you are plagued by guilt and I know you are. I’ve known since we were children, don’t lie to me. You cannot blame him for those actions, because we have done the exact same things for years. That’s war. That is necessary, Naruto. I have heard you when a couple of years ago you were admiring how just he was, how he always attacked during the day, how he never mistreated any prisoners he took, he even released the poorest and asked a reasonable ransom to the richest. Our friends were killed in battle, they were armed, they fought, they lost, they died quickly. This is entirely different. You are slowly killing him, hoping for information that he will never give and at this point you know that if you do obtain it, you will have to kill him because if his brother learnt what you’ve done, no quantity of information would be enough to win this war. You must…”

During the whole speech Naruto got paler, the guilt he had tried to keep at the corner of his mind was slowly coming back to him, but he could not let feelings cloud his judgement.

“Enough Sakura” his voice was slightly higher than he wanted “despite our friendship, I am still your prince. You need to address me with respect, you cannot tell me what I must and must not do. I am the reason you, a woman, were chosen as our official doctor on the front of war. No one else would have deemed it appropriate. So, if you want to stay here, from now on, just do your job and let me handle mine. Have you understood?”

The woman looked puzzled as if she wanted to keep arguing but then she just bowed down

“Yes, I do, your highness. Forgive me, I overstepped my boundaries, it will not happen anymore.  
The prisoner needs to eat more, if you want him to recover fully. It would also be advisable to interrupt the sessions with Kakashi   for a couple of days, so that his body has time to heal. If that is all, can I be dismissed?”

“Yes, thanks for your help” Sakura silently left, he knew she would not forgive him easily, but she was voicing those thoughts in his head that he had tried so hard to suppress. He could not give up or change his mind, he was already past the turning point so what was really the point of thinking about it?

Hours passed before Sasuke started to stir, in his first semiconscious movements he moved his arm causing a groan of pain to escape his lips. Naruto was immediately by his side, taking the arm and gently murmuring.

“Careful, do not move it too much” the voice seemed to alarm Sasuke more than helping, his body went rigid, but he remained silent.

“Everything is alright, don’t worry. It’s me, Menma” this seemed to calm him a little.

“Menma…”

“Yeah, it’s me. Come on, I can help you sit” he started putting the arms around him

“Leave me, I can do it by myself” and he obeyed, he needed the prince to trust him, he knew that Sasuke had lost all control on his life, having the impression of having gained a little back would help his mission. He waited patiently until the prince lifted himself and tried to hide his pain, the wounds on his back must be troubling him.

“Do you want a glass of water Sas’ke?” he nodded and drank avidly

“You know, I think I can count on one hand the number of people who call me by my first name, people are usually respectful around nobility.”

“Doesn’t it get boring? I mean… I think I would hate being called by a title that I did not gain”

“I guess…it’s not a question of whether I like it or not. If people get too familiar with me, they will treat as one of them. They will start objecting when I give an order they don’t like, and this cannot happen. We are at war I need respect and obedience, or we are doomed”

“But if everyone follows you blindly, how can you know when you are making a mistake” the other stayed silent for a couple of moments

“I don’t. I try my best but at the end of the day no one can foresee the future”

“But if you had trusted people around you who are not afraid you, you could use their advice. Two or three heads are always better than one”

Again, silence and then a sigh.

“If I were at my camp, I would never admit something like this, but I guess here there’s nothing I can lose. I will probably be dead in a week anyway…”  
“Whaat? You are not going to die, don’t be an idiot” he did not know how he could tell but he was sure that behind the blindfold Sasuke was giving his best death glare.

“I do not why I keep talking to such a dobe” was that a laugh? He could not believe in so much luck if he laughed it meant he did not feel an immediate danger, he was getting closer he knew.

“Oh, come on. Don’t act like that! You were going to tell me something, what was it?”

“You don’t have to pretend you care, Menma, after all I’m not sure I want to ruin your joy with the misery of my life” joy of his life that was funny, if only he knew.

“I want to listen, pleaseee” he seemed so idiotic,+ but it looks like it worked because the other started speaking again.

“I was saying that when this war started, I was nine, my brother sixteen. Suddenly they told us our parents had been killed, a couple of days later we find out that there must be a spy in the palace, then a nation that we saw as our ally refused to give us the head of my parent’s killer….”  
“You make it easy King Minato doesn’t believe in capital punishment, he didn’t want him to die for a mistake” that was a big slip

“You are informed about the events that led us to war, I didn’t expect that”

“My king is honest, before refusing he allowed people to vote. He explained his reasoning and most of the country agreed”

“He must be a charming man to persuade so many people to go towards suicide rather than handing over a murderer’s head”

 “He is a just and smart man, he knew war was inevitable, he knew you were only waiting for a plausible reason.”

“And how would you know that exactly?” Crap he was getting carried away: Sasuke was getting suspicious, he needs to be more careful.

“Well, you know: you can hear a lot about the war when you are surrounded by soldiers”

“I thought you had just started to work here”

“Yeah I started this week, but this was also my old man’s job and my uncle’s” he hoped he would not ask other questions he did not know how much he could make up without mistakes.

“I guess it makes sense…maybe, it actually does not matter. Even if you were the prince in disguise, this information cannot be used against me” He was actually closer than he thought, Naruto forced himself to laugh at the joke.  
“However if you want an answer: I don’t know what my father’s plans were, I was nine when the war started. I was not allowed in the council back then, but honestly if we were so ready for the war, why were we at such a disadvantage at the beginning of it. I think you must be aware of how easily you were going to win, before my brother started actively participating in plans and battles. Do you really think my sixteen years old brother wished to fight and kill hundreds of men and to live everyday asking himself if that was his last one?”

Silence came back again.

“But you declared war for a stupid reason. You risked thousands of lives for vengeance. Was all of this useful?”

“Our parents had just been killed. Have you ever heard what exactly happened?”

“No, I haven’t” the shame in his voice was clear. He never investigated the story, he only knew they had been killed, the details did not seem important at the time.

“I am not surprised, it took months for us to know. Itachi did not want a war, he acted as peacefully as he could. Your soldiers prevented us from seeing them for three days, they wanted to analyse the bodies thoroughly before letting anyone get close to it. They did not tell us what had happened for almost two months. They refused to give partial information, they said. I was nine and all the politics around it did not concern me. All I cared about was that my mother had broken her promise, she said she was going to come back in two days, but she wasn’t there.” Sasuke stopped for a moment, his voice was becoming more erratic “I apologize. I got carried away. As I was saying: I found out what happened, because I sneaked in the second day, no one pays too much attention to children. That’s how I found that my father’s head had been crashed and my mother had been stabbed. I don’t think I could ever forget her: she was almost the same colour of the sheets around her, her beautiful black hair surrounded her face the contrast was sharp. Even two days after her death, surrounded by insect and dirt she is still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but what really shocked me was her expression she was smiling. I still dream that smile, it’s meaning has taken so many nights away from me and that is just another of the things the soldiers refused to talk about with us. They allowed us to bring the bodies back home three days after they found them. That’s when they told us that my father had tried to fight but he was probably surrounded, and someone grabbed him from behind. They broke his arm before crushing his head to a three, in front of my mother’s eye. She did not fight and what was her repayment? She was stabbed through the stomach and left for hours to bleed out and yet when they found her, she was smiling. It took another two months to know that the Couchman’s body was not in the forest. He probably had betrayed them. Another four months to know that a man had confessed of having stabbed my mother. Of course, they told us two weeks after his arrival. My brother asked for the permission to try him personally as his crime had been mainly against our nation. They refused: the crime had been committed in their territory and it was their right. Then my brother asked to assist personally the judgement. They refused they didn’t want feelings to cloud the decision. He asked the permission to send a couple of his councilmen. They refused: same reasons. He tried many times. At the end, they allowed him to talk with this man without guards around for ten minutes. They had probably written the answers for him but…. well I have heard my brother tell this story so many times, sometimes, details get changed a little that’s normal but the words that man said. They never do.

-I didn’t expect you to be so similar to her, you have her eyes…. I’m sorry she seemed such a wonderful woman, but my family was starving. Those royals promised so much money for that-

This is the reason Itachi declared war, not because of a stupid vengeance against a criminal but because King Minato ordered the murder of my family!”

He stayed silent, what could he say after such a declaration?

“I think you must be wrong. Listen I am not a noble. I do not know everything, but I’ve always been very observant. Our king has been on that throne for quite a while now and yet this is the only war he was engaged in. Yes it’s true your kingdom used to be incredibly rich, but not the richest. Queen Kushina was a very close friend of Queen Mikoto, not one of those courtesy relationship they grew up together. King Minato adores his wife you can see it in the way he looks at her, he built a park in her honour, so why would he order to murder her sister. Don’t you think that all of this does not make any sense”  
“Do you really think that I never myself these questions? That they have never plagued my dreams?” Sasuke was raising his voice then he stopped for a moment “My mother and your queen were friends?”

His expression switched from anger to confusion, it was time to go before he asked more questions.

“I guess I have been spending too much time here. I don’t want Kakashi to kick me out. I’m sorry”

“Uhm” he did not even seem to listen to what I had said.

“Ah I forgot, I don’t think you’ll see him for a while. Doctor’s orders: absolute rest” He did not turn to see the raven prince reaction he just left that cursed place as soon as possible.

 

 

 

“Kakashi we need to talk” he had not realized how late it was, he had practically run from the prisons to the general’s chambers, Sakura had drugged Sasuke to keep him unconscious, so he slept almost the whole day. He seemed unable to leave his side for the whole time, he felt guilty. And now as midnight was approaching he had been furiously knocking his mentor’s door forgetting all the rules his parents had tried so hard to teach him.

 “Your highness what’s happening?” he appeared slightly shocked at the door, it was clear by the tone of his voice and his clothes that he had woken him up.

“Can you let me in please? I need to talk”

His old teacher moved aside, giving him the chance to enter and then carefully locking the door behind him.  
The room was simple, the only pieces of furniture were a wooden desk with two chairs and a small bed in a corner right under the window. The walls perfectly white as the first day the general had arrived, more than once his students asked him why he never hanged a portrait of his family or something else that might remind him of home. His answer was always the same -Home is where family is, and I have mine with me here-

“Naruto is everything alright?” nowadays he only used his name behind closed doors, appearances before everything else, even if this man had practically raised him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize it was so late. I can come back tomorrow if you prefer...” he started walking towards the door, but Kashi grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I’ve spoken to Sakura, what’s happening?” of course Sakura would ask for his advice, after all, he had been as much a father for her as for him, he smiled as memories of two little children causing trouble in the palace came to his mind.

He turned to look right at his teacher’s eyes.

“What am I doing? I’m becoming a person I cannot recognize, the kind I always despised. I yelled at Sakura because she was giving voice to that guilt constantly plaguing me. As a knight I swore I would always act honourably. Where is the honour in what I am doing? Do I even deserve my title?” he felt the tears at the corner of his eye, but he could not cry now, he was not a child anymore. He was the leader of an army; how could he be this weak?

 “You know, I’ve been in other wars before this one. I’ve worked with other soldiers and yet I’ve never seen such a relationship as those you have with them. Yes, some may despise you and your strategies, but most of them are grateful to you, they have seen you fight on the front line, risking your life for them. Believe me when I tell you that they would follow you to hell if you so asked them. Remember I know that this war has been going on for ten years and it seems nowhere close to an end, but one day it will end and you will come back home and rule your country. One who inspires devotion or one who demands it? So, now you must decide what kind of ruler do you want to become? Because remember, no matter how difficult it might seem, there is always a different path.”

A small tear crossed his cheek, so many followed it, now that he had started he could not stop crying anymore. Kakashi didn’t say anything he just hugged him and so they stayed standing in the middle of the bare room hugging each other as the father and son that if they weren’t by blood they certainly were by love.

After a couple of minutes, he finally felt strong enough to leave the embrace and speak again.

“I know that there is another way, but we already tried, and it did not work.”

“There is no success without failure but if you quit there will only be failure.” Naruto looked at him and this time determination was clear in his eyes.

“Then we will try again, but this time we need more information. Sasuke has told me something interesting. I need to know how much truth there is behind it. Kakashi please can you tell me everything you know about the Uchiha murders” his teacher sighed as he sat behind the desk.

“If we are going to talk about that, have a seat. This will be a very long conversation”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I was finally able to update, I'm really happy ! Even if I'm really starting to believe that there is a sort a supernatural force that doesn't want me to update after all the absurd incidents I had today: I don't want bore you so much so I will just write that this beautiful day ended with a really interesting two hours run under the rain without an umbrella and holding my dog(that of course was completely covered by my scarf while I was getting soaked) I just hope that this may make you smile a little, I'm laughing thinking back to my day.  
> Anyway I got lost, I am sorry. After speaking with a couple of friends of mine I realized that I may have not made very clear the fact that Naruto , a prince, disguised himself as a servant named Menma, please could you tell me if this is actually true.  
> In this chapter I tried to give more information about the setting, there will be more in the next chapter and also some action, I promise.  
> Well if you've really read till this point I really want to thank you, as I also said in the last chapter I tried my best to correct every mistake but if you find any or if you want to give me some advice on how to improve my writing I would really appreciate that. Any kind of feedback is welcomed, also criticism because they help me understand where I can improve.  
> Last but not least I wanted to thank the two people who commented the last chapter, those who left kudos also those who wasted five minutes of their time to read what I've written.  
> Thanks a lot!  
> Alex

**Author's Note:**

> Hey if you are reading this, you probably read this chapter till the end, actually I'm not sure someone would be that brave.  
> Anyway I'm sorry if you found mistakes, english is not my first language and since this is the first story I publish in english I don't know anyone that could help me correcting it.So if someone was kind enough to let me know if they found any kind of mistakes, I would be incredibly grateful.  
> I wanted to add a few things, the setting is vague on purpose, it is a sort of medieval world full of magic, I only slightly mentioned it, but I will focus on it in the following chapters.  
> I left some blank spaces in the chapter they point out a change of setting or point of view.  
> I also wanted to explain the title, it took me forever to find one I liked, the title is a sort of summary of the story as it goes on. Naruto and Sasuke are forced to make decisions and sacrifices for their own nation, the former will have to choose between the values he always believed in and his people, the latter if he is ready to give up his life.  
> Please comment, if you want: I would love to hear some opinions about this story.  
> Thank you!


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